The China Trade: Cramer's 'Mad Money' Recap (Friday 9/7/18)

We live in a world where good news can turn into bad news in 280 characters or less, Jim Cramer told his Mad Money viewers Friday, when, as predicted, President Trump used the good employment news to once again escalate trade tensions with China. What's that mean for next week? Cramer laid out his game plan.

Cramer said he expects retaliation from China by Monday -- news which could again rattle the markets.

Smart speaker maker Sonos (SONO) reports on Monday, but Cramer said he's not a fan of this company, which has no history of profitability.

Tuesday sees a spate of economic data from Germany, Japan and the UK. Cramer said the only economy that matters at the moment is the U.S., but these reports will likely bolster the president's trade rhetoric.

On Wednesday, we hear from VF Corp (VFC) during the company's analyst day, and Cramer said he expects good things -- despite tariffs -- for this apparel maker. Wednesday will also bring the latest Producer Price Index, along with the Consumer Price Index on Thursday. Cramer said strong growth and increased tariffs is a "toxic brew" for inflation.

Thursday also brings earnings from Kroger (KR) and an analyst day for UPS (UPS) . Cramer was bullish on both companies.

Finally, on Friday, Dave & Busters (PLAY) will report and Cramer remained bullish on this experiential restaurant chain.

As for tech, Cramer said simply, there are better places to invest, at least for now.

Executive Decision: Green Thumb Industries

For his "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer once again sat down with Ben Kovler, chairman and CEO of Green Thumb Industries, a Canadian-based manufacturer and retailer of cannabis that's making in-roads into the U.S.

Kovler said the cannabis industry is at an inflection point in Illinois, where patients taking opioids can now switch to medical cannabis. He said while opioids are killing thousands, cannabis is non-addictive and effective at reducing pain.

When asked about regulation at the federal level, Kovler noted there is movement and work being done to clarify the rules on regulations and investments into the cannabis industry. Green Thumb is not interested in states that have unlimited licenses, such as California and Oregon. Instead, he said, they're looking at states like New York, where his company hold one of only 10 licenses across the state.

Kovler added that only about 50% of cannabis products are smoked. The other half is being added to all sorts of branded consumer products that will be coming to store shelves.

Cramer said while Green Thumb doesn't trade in the U.S., and is speculative in nature, now's the right time to consider this growing industry.

Great Execution Is Key

Execution is everything in this business, Cramer told viewers. Do it well and your stock will go higher. Fail to execute, and expect your shares to plummet.

Case in point, Broadcom (AVGO) , which after failing to acquire Qualcomm (QCOM) , instead purchased a mainframe software company for over $18 billion. While the deal wasn't well understood at the time, Friday's earnings proved the deal bolstered the company's balance sheet, sending shares up 7.6% with more room to run.

Great execution was also seen in Five Below (FIVE) , the off-price retailer that once again proved the naysayers wrong, delivering a fantastic quarter.

But then there's Tesla (TSLA) , which plunged another 6.3% after CEO Elon Musk's Thursday night discussion with podcast host Joe Rogan, which was streamed on YouTube, and involved a flamethrower, a Samurai sword, whiskey and smoking a joint.

Cramer said that while legal in California, marijuana is still a crime under federal law, and is not something the CEO of a publicly traded company should be seen doing in public. He called the move an "unforced error" that only brings his leadership under more scrutiny. The company's bonds that come due in 2025 hit all-time lows. Also on Friday, the company announce executive changes and a reorganization. Read more: Tesla Announces Management Shuffle as Stock Slides, Bonds Sink to Record Low.

Executive Decision: S&P Global

In his second "Executive Decision" segment, Cramer sat down with Doug Peterson, president and CEO at S&P Global (SPGI) , the ratings agency with shares that are up 22% for the year.

Peterson said it's an exciting time to be in the financial space and S&P Global is a leader in ratings, index services, market intelligence and more. The company has over 1,500 analysts around the globe that not only issues ratings, but also monitors them for changes that affect risk.

S&P's services are embedded into the fabric of the financial world, Peterson said, and countries like China are increasingly turning to the company as that country opens more of its financial markets to the world. S&P offers both transactional and subscription-based products, he said, and they are always enhancing their offerings with new data and new capabilities.

Off the Tape

In his "Off The Tape" segment, Cramer sat down with Adi Tatarko, co-founder and CEO of the privately-held Houzz, an online remodeling marketplace.

Tatarko explained that Houzz began with a personal home remodeling project that went very wrong. Now, Houzz has millions of members in its community and is helping homeowners across the country. The company's growth plans include international expansion.

When asked about consumer confidence, Tatarko said their data show homeowner confidence is high and more remodeling projects are planned. That's part of what makes Houzz so valuable, as the data from the community allow the service to become better over time.